Chey Taewon’s Proposed 'SPC Research' Published in International SSCI Journal

Kim Sangjoon of Ewha Womans University Publishes Paper
Analysis Utilizes SPC Data Provided by the Center for Social Value Enhancement Studies
In-depth Review of 23 Social Enterprises Participating in SPC
"SPC Incentives Confirm Increase in Social and Economic Performance"

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won is announcing the investment plan at the National Report Meeting on the three major mega projects, hosted by President Lee Jae-myung at the Blue House on June 29, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News

The Center for Social Value Enhancement Studies (CSES) announced on the 23rd that research on the Social Performance Incentives (SPC) has been published in an international academic journal in the field of social sciences (SSCI).

According to the Center for Social Value Enhancement Studies, a paper by Professor Kim Sangjoon of the Ewha Womans University School of Business, titled “Responses to Economic Compensation in Dual-Purpose Organizations: An Agent-Based Modeling Approach,” was published in the June 2026 issue of the international SSCI-indexed journal “Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory,” which specializes in organizational simulation research.

SPC is a performance-based incentive system that measures the social value created by social enterprises in monetary terms and provides incentives proportional to those outcomes. This concept was proposed in 2013 by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won at the Davos Forum as a policy measure to address social issues. It forms the basis for policy proposals that advocate for objective measurement of social value and compensation according to market mechanisms.

Based on this philosophy, the Center for Social Value Enhancement Studies has been running the SPC program since 2015, continually experimenting with measuring social performance and giving proportional incentives based on results. The center highlighted the significance by stating, "This research, which verifies the policy effectiveness of SPC, now provides objective academic evidence following its publication in an international SSCI journal."

This study utilized SPC data provided by the Center for Social Value Enhancement Studies and analyzed the impact of SPC on the social and economic performance of social enterprises using an agent-based modeling approach. The research team conducted in-depth interviews with 23 social enterprises participating in the SPC program to analyze their characteristics and decision-making processes and classified the enterprises into four types based on those findings.

Subsequently, the team created 1,000 virtual companies for each type, totaling 4,000 virtual entities, and set the simulation so that these companies continuously made decisions like real businesses. They assumed scenarios where SPC incentives were provided and simulated changes in behavior and performance of social enterprises over a seven-year period.

The analysis found that SPC fosters a virtuous cycle in which both the social and economic performance of social enterprises grow together. According to the study, companies receiving SPC first exhibited a higher motivation for creating social value, resulting in increased social performance. Improved social performance, in turn, led to additional SPC rewards, expanding company resources. The newly secured resources were then used to further enhance both social and economic performance, thus forming a virtuous cycle.

The research team explained that social and economic performance increased for all types of social enterprises that received SPC, with the greatest impact observed among early-stage companies with initially low levels of both social and economic performance.

Professor Kim Sangjoon of the Ewha Womans University School of Business stated, “Social enterprises are characterized by their constant need to balance social and economic performance. This study has demonstrated through simulation that social performance-based incentives like SPC can strengthen a social enterprise’s motivation to create social value and that improvements in social performance, in turn, can lead to enhanced economic outcomes.”

He continued, “Although the effect of incentives does not last permanently, SPC can serve as an important policy tool to help social enterprises maintain their social mission and improve sustainability as they grow.”

Na Seokkwon, CEO of the Center for Social Value Enhancement Studies, remarked, “This research is meaningful in that the SPC data amassed by our center has contributed to internationally recognized academic achievements. Now that international academic research has confirmed that SPC boosts both the social and economic performance of social enterprises and supports sustainable growth, I hope this research becomes a vital policy basis in discussions on institutionalizing SPC in the future.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.